Artifice Page 38

Huh. We’re in a bedroom. And Jeff has his shirt off. I really don’t see where Deacon is going with this…

We have new Fan Art by Christina.K! It’s a dramatic moment of support between Deacon and Jeff. Thanks, Christina.K!

Only three days and we’re now more than a third of the way to the next bonus page at $104. Special thanks go out to long-time supporters Laura Beth W. (donating for the 4th time in a row!) and Esperanza V. and to new supporters Joanne F, Ariel S., Michele M. and Lucy S.!

And a big hug to long time friend of Artifice Robert B. and also to new friends Andrew D. and Saxon B. for their $25 donations! Thank you all so much! 😀

(Oh, and can I just say how much I love Winona’s art here? Very happy to finally get to this scene. I’ve been looking forward to it. 🙂 )

If you particularly enjoy any of these pages and use Facebook, please click the Like button on that page. It’s useful to know what’s working and it helps me get the word out!

You’re a virgin, Jeff? I didn’t see that coming, actually… Haha! He has the cutest chest hair. Look at it, trying to be chest hair. 8D I really like where this is going. I don’t just mean the bedroom, and the half-naked Jeff… But, well, yeah, that too. 🙂

Showing the beauty of “regular looking” guys is something that is important to me. Both because I think the media tends to send both women and men weird and destructive messages about our bodies, but also because, well, it feels more real to me and thus more hot. 🙂

And in terms of the reality of this story, while we wouldn’t expect Deacon to look too regular, it’s not like Jeff has been hitting the gym and meeting with his nutritionist the last several months. And yes, being a grown-up boy he has body hair—which can also be kinda cute. 😉

I know my choices won’t work for everyone, so I’m very glad you’re liking what I’m trying to do with this!

Hyperminimalism

Good God, Jeff’s hair looks even better splayed across the pillow.

Aherm…in any case, I’m finding this all very intriguing; from the hostility Deacon and Jeff began with to the strangely affable atmosphere they’ve got going now. At this rate, I have to wonder how many more pages it will be before Jeff and Deacon will be sending out wedding announcements. No, I’m just kidding, but in all seriousness, I have some theories as to what’s going through Jeff’s mind about Deacon’s behavior. I don’t think Jeff is THAT ignorant to Deacon’s behavior. Perhaps not the curiosity we as the audience are aware of at this point, but whatever that something is that’s deviated from the expected conduct of other A.P.s

I must say i love this page! And it’s not just the fact that there is a bed and a half(at least) naked Jeff is on it. The art here is just gorgeous! and like other people said, I love hos Jeff’s body hair is trying to be hairy! XD So cute. Honestly you should write a book that goes with it, so we can read all their days together! 😀

I’ve never taken drugs, but I imagine this is what it’s like..I need more!

I wasn’t expecting to see the NoNeCo logo on a DaVinci Four computer. Has NoNeCo reached such a height in this reality that they’ve become a totalitarian de facto government of sorts? Honestly, I’d like to know more about the colony and the circumstances surrounding the ASO strike.

And d’aw. They’re bonding.

Also, Siboahn, huh? I’ve only ever met one person with that name, and she’s been plagued her whole life with being called “sib-oh-haaan”. XD

Relax and Instead of shouting out his name in ecstasy, use your own name.XDXDXD j/k…although I would laugh my bum off if he did that xD

fujoshifanatic

Oooh! Now this just looks so yummy! Can I tell you that I just LOVE Jeff’s hair on this page? And the expressions on his face as he recounts his (lack of) experience to Deacon–so cute and emotive (the dimples and hair porn in panel 3–uunff!).

I also love the way Jeff seems so oblivious to wondering why an android solder is soo fascinated with his sexual history (poor dear; he must have been so horribly lonely!). Go Deacon, set up that “social experiment” of yours — we’re waiting with bated breath for the results! 😛

Jeff’s photos of his mother are quite touching. A nice little detail. He obviously inherited her hair. Was this in the script, or was it Winona’s idea?

Totally unrelated (and totally gross) thought: I hope by this point they’ve done something about all the colonists’ bodies!

Emperor_Meiji

… also, it seems Jeff’s mom was a doctor. Might explain why she didn’t have a problem with his genetic “abnormality.” But it doesn’t explain why she would bring her son to a socially regressive colony. I hope we learn more about Jeff’s origins.

Glad you liked the little details. Here is what I had in the script for the room:

We are in a small Spartan room with a bed and a computer at a desk. This is Jeff’s room and despite its pre-fab nature, it still feels rather cozy. A wooden paddle with elastic string and a ball is propped up on a small desk. Framed photographs of Jeff and his mother – a tired-looking scientist in her 40s wearing a lab coat and a strained smile – are on either side of the computer’s flat screen monitor. The screen itself is displaying green phosphor text, a tabular representation of the Energy Distribution Network. The bed is simple and twin-size with thin, green cotton sheets; its head is located in a corner of the room across from the desk. Through a small window high up on the wall above the desk, moonlight comes in – that and the glow from the monitor are the only light in the room. The foursquare window panes are covered with droplets of water.

As you can see Winona really brought that to life and then some! You’ll also notice some changes that happened while we worked together. In particular, we have pictures of Jeff’s mother with Jeff. And the pictures themselves are happier than the bleak suggestion my script gave. Both are choices Winona made when creating the first pass and the moment I saw them, I knew they were the right choices. Yet another benefit of collaborating with a genius. 😀

I don’t know why, but when Jeff mentioned uberchildren, I rather expected Deacon to go “Does not compute” at him and ask for an explanation. And then I remembered that Deacon is AI, not Glados. But “I’m just not built that way” is better and quite awesome to me. Loves this page and I love the easy familiarity between them. It’s cuuuuuuuuuute.

Yes, while Deacon might not be the expert on human emotions, pulling references from a large database of human culture is something that is well within his grasp. He is definitely innocent in ways, but not so much in the way of understanding human language or even humor. And in that regard, he’s a bit different than some other androids that we have seen in sci-fi.

Like always first thing I do when I get up is come straight to check for an update 🙂 Thank you Winona and Alex for the best update by far!! Half naked Jeff *drools* I bet Deacon is thinking the same thing we all are!

I really only have one question, Where can I get a Deacon of my very own??? I think most of us have had this conversation before. I love how all the electricity of those moments is captured here. Oh yeah and seriously could those last two panels of Deacon be any hotter? I just wish Jeff didn’t look so ridiculously close to my ex lol. Great job I cannot wait until the next page!

Yes, I was trying to capture the feeling of the kinds of conversations I used to have when getting to know people in the dorms at college. I think it’s a common chat to have at that age when bonding. 🙂

Glad you’re liking our buddy Deacon. And bummer about the doppelgänger effect with Jeff. Hopefully, there’s enough difference in personality that you can appreciate Jeff for the cutie he is. 😉

I really LOVE your comic <3 I love the way you draw, your style is fantastic 😀

*cough* There's only one thing that I don't like so much. In my opinon, they got along a little bit too fast. Deacon just had to say "sorry" and the are best firends? I of course also see, that they of course also have been together for a while but still…I think it was too fast. I don't want to offend you, jsut saying what I think about it :X As I said, I really love your comic :3

And: Nyaw~ Jeff looks cute in the 5th panel <3

LINCARD1000

As for the speed – bear in mind how much time is passing here, this is day 39 so it’s been several *weeks* 🙂

KBatty

Yes. Several weeks alone… with no one at all but each other. (obligatory “aaaaawwww”)

And I want to know what the other four APs were named. >.< Here's hoping you get YOUR wish!

Ryn

wow, i missed the bonus page on Wednesday! well, double joy today. D has quite the sneaky look in panel 5. I’ve been wondering who was gunna make the first move. oh boy, D’s less than stellar social skills put to use for seduction. For the love of god Deacon be tactful! or he’ll just blurt it out, he’s going to blurt it out isn’t he? and he’s telling all this to maven!? Oh, my god! bet she never saw this coming. heh

I’m not sure who’s reaction i want to see more, Jeff’s or Maven’s.

Krondor2000

I almost thought the picture on the desk is Maven, but she looks different. I hate to think it must be a relative. It almost brings up more questions.

kittengrl39

I’m betting it’s his mother, and that they were fairly close. I mean, she did keep him.

SteveMcSheffrey

And as long as she’s a good mom on top of keeping him, they would be amazingly close. And why can’t that be his mother AND Maven? I’m really hating the way the evil doctor treats Deacon but if she were doing the same things to Deacon with a mother’s motivation, they wouldn’t be evil so much as overprotective…

Krondor2000

Another thing that bother me. On Jeff’s computer, it shows the same corporate logo as on Deacon’s jumpsuit. Or am I mistaken?

Hummm. I don’t think he’s a gay android, rather he’s an android who want to connect emotionally with someone, anyone, male or female. He could not kill Jeff because he need him to stay powered, and he’s finally having the time and the isolation to explore his desire to transcend his limited programming and explore the idea of emotional bonding. That’s why it’s not what they teach in military training. I find the idea very touching. I hope that turns out to be an aspect of what’s going on.

Ms Nelson’s facial expressions are very effective as usual. The looking up and the side and half smile during the fond reminiscence and the pursing of the lips and looking down scowl supported the words very well. Please pass on my compliments.

Ooohhhh…. that sneaky boy! I bet he was just waiting for the opportunity to get undressed in front of Deacon!

Yukiness

Thanks you Winnona For not being fearful of natural male hairness. You have no idea how much this made my day. To me, the picture on the gaveta (dresser) looks more like Jeff and a younger sibling. Who knows, it’s too small to really tell.

Both of these men are so ridiculously attractive in this update that I (1) cannot stop staring/coming back to look at this page and (2) had to take a few minutes to get my thoughts in enough order to say what I liked. So, a few deep breaths later, I am now ready!

Can I say how much I appreciate a little hair on a guy? Not too terribly much, but just a bit? Jeff definitely strikes the perfect hairiness balance for me, and I love it! His clothing just does not do him justice! I wasn’t aware he was so well built until this lovely page. Beautiful muscle delineations and a nice looking neck. He has really great hair and eyes too! I am a fan 🙂

I admired Deacon in this page too. As always his clothing is tight enough to not leave a whole lot to the imagination, but I like that too 🙂 He has such pretty eyes and a great jaw! The posture thing was interesting as well. I get the feeling that BJ (Before Jeff) it took Deacon an actual effort against his programming to not sit or stand straight. It’s nice to see him relaxing thusly. I love sitting like this myself.

As always, I eagerly await the next update with bated breath!

yellowrock

Time to spoooooon the night away!

“It is vital that I sleep with you to prevent you from running away. You know, for security reasons.”

hngh They’re both so ridiculously good looking here I can’t even find the words. Jeff especially. As someone else said here, he has the perfect balance of body hair. From his face (and luxurious locks) I was kind of expecting him to be waxed-smooth, and I’m really glad he’s not. I also love how many photos there are of (I’m assuming) his mother in the room. I imagine that they would be amazingly close, for a lot of reasons, and I’m looking forward to hearing/seeing more about their relationship. After Deacon/Jeff’s relationship, of course.

I had a dream about this last night. Deacon like froze up and didn’t move and the lady was like “Stand up to keep from passing out” so he stood but fell over cuz he was frozen stiff and when she bent down to see if she was okay he like threw her across the room and flew out of the window (like a super hero.) He was in the city flying into buildings because he couldn’t control his powers. The lady he threw was having sex with this monster thing with lots of piercing he was like a person but not human. Anyway then Deacon was having a threesome with this little purple guy and Jeff….It was really bizarre but just know that even my subconscious just can’t wait for the next page (even though im sure it goes nothing like that lol) <3

Exile 755 is a Higglytown hero

Just because most everyone has squee’d over Jeff’s awesome hair all over the pillow ( ♥ ) and the adorable body hair, I’ll go with this: DAT NIPPLES. hurrrrrr:333

While it does FEEL like they’ve been moving rather quickly, I realize we’ve skipped a lot. Opens up the door to more free-range fanfic writers, though! 😀 (I would love to see that. I checked yaoi gallery, and apparently there’s no fanart there. Le’damn.)

Ok, why is everyone loving the body hair on Jeff? I imagined Jeff to be hairless, like a little angel xD However, while I may not like the body hair, I am liking where this is going. VERY much <3 <3 <3

I prefer hairless too but he’s human he’s bound to grow hair in places we don’t like. its kinda ballsy to draw it though and i think she pulled it off pretty good. whenever I do body hair it don’t look good. unless its on a cat person for some reason…

kendrawcandraw

See, I’m a huge fan of the fuzzy dudes. Perhaps because my boyfriend is a fuzzy dude himself, but aside from that I really appreciate when artists draw men with hair. It’s hard to pull off without feeling squicky, and Winona does a great job of making it look very natural!

Laymanterms303

I totally agree. I was half expecting him to be hairless, probably because he’s so damn clean shaven. So I was surprised (in a good way) to see Jeff has some hair going on. I even got a chuckle out of his chest hair because it looks so realistic for a teenager (he’s 19 right?). He has a bunch of hair strands sprouting out, but not enough for it to look filled in. Ah, puberty… it’s so fun when the things that normally identify you as a man (body hair/deeper voice) show up last.

I am just glad to see a guy in a web comic with hair in other places on his body ASIDE from his head. There are too many males that are being portrayed so unrealistically, it’s irritating at times. It’s like adding stuff that’s natural is the taboo instead of what’s expected. xD So I congratulate our lovely artists for including the detail.

I completely agree. I may not like a huge amount of furriness on a guy, but I do appreciate it when the artist (in this case, Winona) goes out of her way to portray a good-looking, realistic guy. Reading a typical yaoi from Japan makes me expect that guys fanatically shave themselves down everywhere, and that’s just not what they do! Better to have the real-down-to-earth (heh) Jeff 🙂

yeah dude that’s his mom. She died like 7 months before this. it was lung cancer. she was part of the natural order government and refuse to have an abortion. the kid had a chromosome that made him gay. its obvious in the pictures they were close. I hope Jeff was able to take them with him.

classic_bear

Jeff has little mermaid hair, just flowing around without a care in the world.

kalyphas

Actually in panel 3 and 4 he made to look more than a little like Shaun White the red haired Olympic snow boarder, which is all right with me.

mutisija

Hmm… this webcomic is like fridge. I check it every hour even when i know that here is not new page.

Kept reading through the comments up to page 25 in order to shorten the time from reading this page til next update – but finally (3 a.m. CEST on Tuesday) could not wait any longer. Well, so there’s still comments to read within the next let’s call it “camping gap”.

As usual I absolutely like the story and the art, but the fact I particularly like – just like the few commentators I read here yet – that’s distributed on this page is that Jeff not only has that great scalp hair, but also is a guy with some other hair attached. And in a nice pattern, too! :-))) Thanks, you both for that!

Lorescien

So. Goddamn. Cute. XD

kalyphas

Actually, I think that there’s more than a slight resemblance between the way that Jeff has been drawn and the Olympic snow boarder, Shawn White, in panels 3 and 4, and a very desirable one at that.

typhonblue

Hm… I think Deacon is trying out Jeff’s expression in panel 4 in panel 5.

kendrawcandraw

Hahahaa Deacon in that second to last panel smacks of so much “Awright let’s do this”. You’ve got his shirt off, bro, seal the deal!

But really, Jeff is so cute here! That third panel? All aboard the dreamboat!!

Viserys

Loving Jeff in the third-to-last panel.. this whole page is awesome 😀 Also, I keep seeing little changes in Winona’s style (i.e. the way she draws lips, this page compared to the first page etc) and I like it, it’s pretty awesome seeing styles progress as it goes on… pages can’t come fast enough. D:

Laymanterms303

Okay I demand a rewind! First panel is Jeff in bed, apparently naked, and he and Deacon are looking pretty relaxed. What did we miss?

I gotta say I love that panel. It seems that Jeff and Deacon are at ease with each other, even pretty friendly looking. And I got a good laugh from seeing that several hundred years in the future, we will still be playing with rubber balls attached to wooden paddles. Pretty high tech there, Jeff. And is that his mom? And last panel Deacon looks so sad! : (

Archidel

I really have only one gripe with this comic; it updates way too infrequently! The story is intriguing, Winona’s art is amazing and, as some other people have commented already, both Deacon and Jeff are ridiculously good-looking. I would be quite happy to see this story update every day.*

*Although I am of course aware that would be unmanageable given the labour intensive nature of the artwork.

This comic happens to update once a week (normally Saturdays) how is that infrequent with the bonus pages also going up midweek when the donation target is met?

Just be patient and reread when the new updates come out, that way the story feels more alive and if you can’t read all in one sitting, savour pressing the next button while its there.

for this quality you should be lucky once a week is the usual quota.

Archidel

I think we’re running into the limitations of the written word here. Had I actually been able to speak my comment, inflection and intonation could have been used quite effectively to indicate it was not to be taken too seriously. 🙂

All I was really saying is that I love this comic, love it enough in fact to wish there was a lot more of it, even though I of course don’t expect that to happen on my timetable.

Why do all these gay comics have to be so retarded? A gay boy in a relationship with someone 40 years older than him, and now this guy having sex with an android. Makes me ashamed to like superheroes and be gay.